crane

1 of 2

noun

ˈkrān

: any of a family (Gruidae of the order Gruiformes) of tall wading birds superficially resembling the herons but structurally more nearly related to the rails

: any of several herons

: an often horizontal projection swinging about a vertical axis: such as

: a machine for raising, shifting, and lowering heavy weights by means of a projecting swinging arm or with the hoisting apparatus supported on an overhead track

: an iron arm in a fireplace for supporting kettles

: a boom for holding a motion-picture or television camera

crane

2 of 2

verb

craned; craning

transitive verb

: to raise or lift by or as if by a crane

: to stretch toward an object of attention

craning her neck to get a better view

intransitive verb

: to stretch one's neck toward an object of attention

I craned out of the window of my compartment—

Webb Waldron

: hesitate

Example Sentences

Verb We craned our necks toward the stage. craned her head to see the roof

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But where there’s a will, there’s a way—and, apparently, a crane available to do the job. —

Justin Ray, Robb Report, 10 May 2023 Later on, capsules came equipped with a flotation collar; this helped to prevent their sinking while waiting for a crane to hoist the craft and crew aboard. —

Marisa Sloan, Discover Magazine, 5 May 2023 As a crane raised the cross off the ground, a sort of graffiti could be seen. —

Paul Gattis | Pgattis@al.com, al, 21 Apr. 2023 Photograph: Reefy In Rotterdam, the Reefy team partnered with a local contractor that used a crane barge to lower each block into the water. —

WIRED, 28 Mar. 2023 The sand dunes are smack in the middle of the Central Flyway Migration Corridor; look out for cranes at the Nebraska Nature & Visitor Center just off Highway 2 in Wood River. —

Sarah Rose, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2023 One of Mizushima’s events is her 1000 Origami Cranes for Wellness workshops, where participants fold 1,000 origami cranes for mental wellness. —

Phi Do, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2023 Traffic was backed up most of the day Monday in West Dallas as dozens of police and fire personnel responded to a call at a construction site about a man atop a crane, blocking off nearby streets. —

Dallas News, 13 Feb. 2023 It has not yet been retrieved, the officials said, but that will likely be done with a crane or a winch from a vessel. —

Luis Martinez, ABC News, 10 Feb. 2023

Verb

Not only was the fit a tight squeeze, but employees needed to crane their necks to view their laptop screens on the cart. —

Steve Shaheen, Forbes, 5 May 2023 The pop star, who was dressed in a lovely lavender skirt suit and dramatic hat, was filmed craning her neck to find her seat ahead of the crowning, inadvertently creating a reaction meme. —

Quinci Legardye, Harper's BAZAAR, 8 May 2023 The design of the house is forward thinking but conscious of its agricultural roots: A modern, low-slung structure was built with firesafe materials like steel but is set within a grove of centuries-old olive trees (many of which were craned in from another town). —

Hadley Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, 23 Mar. 2023 Teenagers camped out cross legged on the floor, heads craned over their smartphones. —

Caitlin Raux Gunther, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Mar. 2023 There is a great deal of neck craning to take it all in. —

Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 16 Mar. 2023 Irving craned his neck and saw white smoke pouring from a small window near the structure’s roof. —

USA Today, 10 Apr. 2023 The actor craned his body out of the large vehicle to check on his nephew, without setting the parking brake, and with a missed step fell under the tracks of the moving vehicle. —

Elise Brisco, USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2023 The 58-year-old biotechnology executive will be out somewhere in Austin — at the bank or the grocery store or the coffee shop — and catch a stranger craning his or her neck to take in all 6-foot-10 of him. —

Jeff Mcdonald, San Antonio Express-News, 6 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crane.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.